Compulsory Conversations
by Mikauzoran
Summary: On a group shopping trip, Aoko and the girls enact their brilliant scheme to get Kaito and Hakuba to be friends: leaving the boys behind in the food court to watch their purses for a few hours and thus forcing the two to make conversation. Is this plan going to blow up in their faces, or will it end up working a little too well?


Mikau: Hello, hello! Thank you so much for dropping in and taking a look at this story. I wrote this as another one of my Poirot Café forum's daily writing prompt projects. The words were: shopping, tsunami, China, idiot, and handkerchief. I believe this actually turned out kind of cute, despite being kind of just off the top of my head. Well, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd have the Magic Kaito 1412 anime stop jumping around so much. I understand that they're doing their best to stretch out what little plot they have, but…the chronology was screwy to begin with. And now it's worse. I think they're doing a good job overall, though.

…

Compulsory Conversations

Secretly, Kaito really liked shopping. It was only because he had a public image to maintain that he grumbled so much and had to literally be dragged along by the girls.

Plus he was wary of bringing suspicion upon himself. He'd once made the mistake of being a little too knowledgeable when he'd told Keiko that mustard yellow wasn't her color and that if she really wanted to compliment her skin tone and bring out her eyes, she should wear green.

Kaito was extra on his guard today because both Akako and Hakuba were tagging along for this particular shopping trip in order to purchase swimsuits for the upcoming school trip to Okinawa. Needless to say, Kaito was less than thrilled at the prospect of going to the beach with his classmates.

The outing had been going pretty well so far. Both of the boys had found satisfactory pairs of trunks, and the girls had narrowed it down to five or so candidates apiece. They were in the food court now, breaking for lunch.

The girls had taken a group trip to the restrooms, so that left Kaito and Hakuba alone together. Kaito tried not to fidget nervously.

As the minutes ticked by, Kaito munched half-heartedly at the remains of his salad, listening to the mutterings of the crowd around him. They were talking about the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis what with the strange weather they'd been having lately and the odd behavior of the local wildlife. Everyone had been wary whenever those words popped up in the news. The great disaster of just a few years ago had yet to fade from public memory.

And then there was the usual talk of what China and North Korea were doing. Nothing new there, really. Japan hadn't been destroyed yet despite the proximity of the threat, and Kaito didn't think they'd be destroyed anytime soon, but, you know, people always talked about it.

Kaito knew better than to ask Hakuba how long the girls had been gone, but Kaito would guess that it was around ten minutes or so. Longer than they had any reason to take, anyway. And the silence between the boys was beginning to grow awkward.

Kaito bit the bullet and spoke first. "Geez. Why does it always take girls so long? And why do they always have to go in a pack?" He began on neutral ground.

Hakuba shrugged. "You would know better than I what exactly goes on in there, but I've always imagined that they're having some kind of strategy meeting."

Kaito blinked. "Jerk. What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know," Hakuba replied in that obnoxious, snide fashion Kaito had come to loath.

Kaito could guess, at any rate. The idiot was probably insinuating that Kaito dressed up as a woman and snuck into the ladies' room. Which…okay, Kaito did sort of do whenever he was out in drag somewhere…okay, here…when he was shopping for women's clothing, but… Kaito wasn't going to admit to any of that.

"Do you have to be such a bastard all the time, Hakuba?" Kaito sighed, resting his chin in his hand. "I was just trying to start a conversation with you."

"…Sorry," Saguru replied after a minute of consideration. He really did sound sincere in his apology too. "I do beg your pardon. I'm so used to being surly and verbally sparring with you."

Kaito bit his tongue, holding back the onslaught of insults that threatened to overflow. He decided to be the bigger person for once. No low blows. No childish tricks. "It's alright. I'm the same way with you, but…today, let's not. Okay?"

Hakuba nodded. "You have my word that I'll try."

"Good enough," Kaito sighed. "…So…do you think they ditched us?"

"I would say yes, but they left their purses here for us to guard, so they have no choice but to come back sooner or later." A bit nonplussed, Saguru frowned.

"So what do you think they're playing at?" Kaito pursed his lips. "I mean, it's been like fifteen minutes. They're not just going to the bathroom."

Saguru shrugged, not really knowing what was going on but determined to give it his best guess. "I'd say that either they've been distracted along the way or they're plotting something nefarious."

"What could they possibly gain from having the two of us sit here with their stuff?" Kaito snorted, making himself comfortable on the hard plastic seat…well…as comfortable as he could. He figured he might as well, seeing as it was looking as if he'd be there for a while.

Suddenly a conversation Hakuba had had earlier on in the week with Aoko came back to him.

Saguru pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I think I know what's going on."

"Oh yeah?" Kaito scoffed. "Enlighten me, Sherlock."

"The other day Aoko-kun was talking about how she wished the two of us got along better. She said that if we spent more time together she was sure that we'd grow fond of each other. I think her exact words were that we'd become the bestest best friends," Saguru reported grimly.

"Haha…ha," Kaito laughed weakly. "Somehow I think she's wrong."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Saguru shrugged. "I think I could come to like you if you were less like _you_."

"Funny." Kaito smiled with a certain amount of appreciation for Hakuba's dry, cutting wit. "I'd like you too if only you were _more_ like me…. Though, I might get sick of someone too much like me."

"And I would find myself utterly obnoxious," Saguru remarked in a "Huh. Look at that." kind of tone.

Kaito frowned. "Sorry. We said we wouldn't do this, didn't we?"

Saguru matched the expression with a frown of his own. "Yes. Yes, we did. Forgive me."

Kaito chewed on his lip, looking around for the girls. "So…we just sit here and wait?"

"I suppose we're free to leave, but…we _were_ asked to watch the bags, and it'd be reprehensible of us to just leave them unattended. You may go, Kuroba, but I am determined to sit and wait," Saguru announced his intentions.

Kaito sighed, resigned to his fate. "Okay. We sit and wait then."

Several more minutes passed in awkward silence for the two teens. They sat and they squirmed until a passing old lady dropped her handkerchief a few meters off.

Kaito hurried to his feet and snatched up the handkerchief, returning it to the elderly woman before she even had the chance to try to bend down.

And then Kaito trotted back over to the table and resumed his place, dreading the long wait that was sure to be in store for him.

Saguru raised an eyebrow at his companion.

"What?" Kaito grumbled, fidgeting in his seat, ready for a fight.

"That was very thoughtful of you…rather decent," Saguru observed, obviously pleasantly surprised with his rival, borderline impressed.

Kaito shrugged it off. "The lady needed help. It's not really a big deal. And what's with your tone? It's like you expected me to trip her or something."

"Not at all. I just…I never pegged you for the type to go out of your way to help little old women." Saguru chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to think up an alternate topic of conversation. "You're left-handed, Kuroba?"

Kaito blinked and then frowned in suspicion. "What's it matter?"

"It doesn't. Merely an observation." Saguru hadn't expected his classmate to be so defensive about it.

"I'm right-handed," Kaito lied. Kid was the ambidextrous one. Though actually left-hand-dominant, Kaito had made an effort in recent years to use his right hand more in public, since righties were more common. He didn't want to stick out, and being a leftie was something cops noticed.

Saguru's brow furrowed. "Really? Sorry. It's just that you picked up that handkerchief with your left hand, so…never mind." Saguru didn't want to make a fuss over it.

Neutral subject matter soon ran dry, and silence fell upon the teens once more. And then an old song started to play in the background over the speaker system.

Kaito smiled softly and started singing along under his breath.

Saguru blinked. "You know this song?" It was in English.

Kaito gave him a curious look, wondering how knowing a certain song was incriminatory. "Yeah? It's one of my favorites. So? I can't like American music?"

Saguru was almost speechless. "No. It's just…this is one of my favorite songs too. I didn't think anyone would recognize Fall Out Boy nowadays. I'm surprised that they're even playing this song, it's so old."

Kaito shrugged. "Grand Theft Autumn is a classic, and they did just make their comeback not too terribly long ago…. So…you like Fall Out Boy too?" Kaito asked cautiously.

Saguru nodded enthusiastically. "When I was sixteen, they were my absolute favorite. What was your favorite album?"

"Infinity on High," Kaito quickly replied. "You?"

"Yes, either Infinity on High or Take This to Your Grave. I can't say that I really love their new stuff, but…I was such a fan of the old songs," Saguru admitted.

"Maybe you have better taste than I originally gave you credit for," Kaito chuckled. "What else do you like? Maybe we should swap music sometime."

Thirty minutes after that, Kaito and Saguru were on to the topic of literature, and Hakuba was shocked to find that Kaito had never actually read any of the Lupin books.

"But they're brilliant!" Saguru complained. "Even _I_ think so! I may not approve of Lupin's chosen occupation, but even I must admit that he's clever and downright hilarious. Maurice Leblanc is an excellent writer, and I think you'd really enjoy Lupin."

"I'd have to brush up on my French first." Kaito chewed thoughtfully on his lip.

"I have the first book in French, if you'd like to borrow it sometime, Saguru offered.

"We'll have to do a book swap sometime," Kaito conceded. "You need to read Tennessee Williams."

"I had to read Tennessee Williams in school once," Saguru replied blandly, and it was obvious that the experience had not been a pleasant one.

"Yeah, but it's different when you read it of your own free will," Kaito argued. "I _hated_ Pride and Prejudice when we read it two years ago, but when I went back and read it on my own—"

"—for that heist note," Saguru broke in, connecting the dots.

"Hakuba, you're ruining it," Kaito pouted.

"Sorry. I know. You're not Kid. Ignore me," Saguru replied in a small voice.

"I do most of the time," Kaito assured. "Anyway, when I read it on my own, it wasn't half bad. It makes a big difference in the enjoyment factor."

"I'll keep that in mind, but I don't believe anything could make Jane Austen interesting. The movies are always good, but her books move so slowly," Saguru sighed, having been forced to read Emma one too many times.

"You take that back right now," Kaito hissed.

"Sorry," Hakuba conceded.

"So…what kind of movies do you like?" Kaito inquired tentatively, not wanting the conversation to die just yet. He was surprisingly having a good time talking to a guy he couldn't stand just seventy minutes prior.

"I actually like historical pieces." Saguru shrugged his right shoulder. "Mysteries, of course, and, don't laugh, but I appreciate a good romantic comedy as well. You?"

"Suspense. Horror movies scare the stuffing out of me, but I like a good suspense movie…and I've been known to enjoy a good mystery in the past. You ever see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with Robert Downey Jr.?"

"I hope you're not insinuating that that was a good mystery," Saguru chuckled, "but I have to admit that I highly enjoyed that film. Have you seen The Crow?"

Kaito shook his head.

"I think you would find it interesting. I should show it to you sometime."

Kaito bit his lip. "You know…I'm free this Sunday…I mean, if you really mean it."

Saguru blinked. "…Yeah. Yeah, I do. Come over to my house at ten? My Baaya will insist on making us lunch afterwards, and I'd like it if you'd stay and eat with us. You wouldn't be imposing at all. My father's never home, so it's just the two of us. Baaya will be very excited about taking care of a guest. I don't really have friends over, so…and bring your music along with you. We can swap. That is…if you have the day to spare and wouldn't mind spending it in my company. Does that sound…agreeable?"

"Yeah," Kaito chuckled, an earnest grin coming to his face. "I don't really hang out with friends either, and that sounds like a ton of fun. Thanks for the invite. I can't wait to meet your Baaya."

"Oh. I should give you my phone number, I suppose." Saguru nervously fumbled to get out his mobile. He was feeling a little giddy. He'd never done this before, just hung out with a peer.

And as Kaito and Saguru exchanged numbers and went on to talk about online gaming, the girls who had been checking in on them periodically from a safe distance did a little victory dance.

"It looks like it worked!" Aoko squealed. "They're making friends!"

"That or they're on to our little scheme and are just play acting," Akako snickered in that velvety voice of hers.

Aoko began to pout.

"No, it looks like they really are getting along to me," Keiko giggled. "They're so cute!"

"Aoko's so glad! She knew they would like one another if they only gave each other a chance!" Aoko cried in triumph.

"Yes." Akako positively leered. "Nakamori-san, you might have to worry about your two crushes running off with one another at this rate. They may grow to like one another a little too much."

…

Mikau: Okay. So what do we think? Truthfully, I've been considering writing a second chapter with the school trip to the beach. Eventually, anyway. And that would be when this story gets some actual romance in it. What do you guys think? Would you be interested in an eventual sequel? Thanks so much for reading, and please drop me a review on the way out! Thanks a bunch. Take care, guys!


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